American businessman Gene Haas has been granted a Formula One license by the FIA, clearing the way for the first American F1 team in decades.

Haas, the co-owner of NASCAR's Stewart-Haas Racing, has been working on getting a license to field an F1 team in 2015 since last summer and said he was "extremely pleased" by the FIA's decision in a Friday statement.

"It's an exciting time for me, Haas Automation and anyone who wanted to see an American team return to Formula One," he said. "Now, the really hard work begins. It's a challenge we embrace as we work to put cars on the grid. I want to thank the FIA for this opportunity and the diligence everyone put forth to see our license application come to fruition."

Tony Stewart, who is the co-owner of SHR with Haas and is one of four drivers -- Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick are the others -- said he was pleased for his colleague but emphasized the operations would be separate.

"It's a pretty cool deal," Stewart said. "Not anybody can just go get one of those. You have to go through the approval process and he got approved. I'm happy for him.

"It's two totally separate programs. I won't have any involvement in the F1 side of it. ... I'm excited for Gene, but it doesn't affect the Cup side."

Haas' company is the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. He also founded Windshear, a rolling-road wind tunnel where many F1 teams have tested.

The last American-owned F1 team was Team Haas (no relation to Gene Haas), run by Carl Haas and Teddy Mayer. It fielded cars from 1985-86, according to Formula1.com.

USF1, based in Charlotte, was supposed to fill the void in 2010. But it folded a month before the season began and never got to the grid.

No Americans currently race in F1. The last to do so was Scott Speed in 2007.